PSG to brutally expose gap between them and Juve
The group stage of the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League gets underway on Tuesday evening, with Group H pitting French giants and perennial domestic title holders PSG against Juventus, who have continued to be off the Serie A pace for a third season running in the early weeks. The hosts have been on a goalscoring blitz thus far, and appear to be heavy favourites at the Parc des Princes. Read our preview here:
Another fine Messi
The tedious summer saga involving the tug-of-war between Les Parisiens and Real Madrid over Kylian Mbappé ceased when the superstar signed a colossal new contract to stay put, a move which gave him more influence than ever off the pitch. On it, he has displayed moments of petulance but plenty of mesmerising skill, with both he and Neymar scoring more goals than games played (six and seven to five) respectively. Even more pleasing for the owners have been the performances of Leo Messi. Naturally, nobody questions his skill or standing in the game, but his own stratospheric standards, his debut season in the French capital was below-par. This time round, he appears to have forged better links with Neymar in particular, and the trio will be extremely difficult for the Old Lady to stop in the kind of form they're in.
Bremer... who else?
Massimiliano Allegri has not had a triumphant return to Turin during his second spell in charge. Under his auspices last term, his side laboured badly in Serie A, barely qualifying for the elite continental competition for a second year in succession. A far more convincing term is demanded this time round, and although they are unbeaten after five games, only two of those have ended in wins. Dušan Vlahović is another player who has settled more into the groove in the early gameweeks, and he'll hope for a decent amount of support on Tuesday evening. However, the focus is more likely to be on how the defence as a collective performs. Number one Wojciech Szczęsny remains out injured, so Mattia Perin will continue to deputise. In front of him are Brazilian pair Danilo and Bremer. The latter was acquired from city rivals Torino in the close season, and his expert interception ability is going to be under the lens.
Betting tip
Casumo have odds of 2.14 for the free-scoring home side to get more than 2.5 goals in the match.
